More than a dozen shootings and several slayings in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park over the last six months are linked to a deadly feud between two rival street gangs, police chiefs from the two cities said Tuesday.

And in an effort to help stop the violence, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, San Mateo County Gang Task Force, Countywide Narcotics Task Force and the Palo Alto Police Department are joining forces with Menlo Park and East Palo Alto police in a multi-agency crackdown on gangs.

East Palo Alto police Chief Ron Davis said in a phone interview Tuesday that he couldn't discuss what sparked the violence that has exploded between the gangs, known as the "Taliban" and the "DaVill," but noted both cities started seeing a marked increase in shootings this summer.

"We started connecting the dots," Davis said.

The chief noted that a similar effort involving San Mateo County law enforcement agencies led to the arrests of several dozen Taliban members in 2009.

"We had that major dismantling operation," Davis said. "Maybe those arrested are now coming out of prison."

On Tuesday night, Menlo Park interim police chief Lee Violett informed the Menlo Park City Council about the joint enforcement program that sprung up in response to the "significant uptick in gang violence" over the past several months.

"With the increase in violence we've seen, it's amazing the homicide rate is not higher," said Violett, who attended the meeting with Davis and Palo Alto police Chief Dennis Burns.

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The Taliban gang is primarily based in Menlo Park and DaVill in East Palo Alto, according to police.

Gang battles seemingly have intensified in the last month. Menlo Park has had four shootings, including one homicide and a drive-by that left four wounded -- all in the Belle Haven neighborhood.

East Palo Alto has had six shootings, including one late Tuesday morning on Bay Road and Palo Verde Avenue that sent a 19-year-old man to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his upper body, Davis said. Although police do not yet know the motivation for the attack, the law enforcement teams from East Palo Alto and Menlo Park are investigating the incident as potentially gang-related, Davis said.

This latest response to gang violence in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, dubbed "Operation SMART" (Strategic Multi-Agency Response Team), will involve joint gang and narcotics enforcement operations, targeted patrols, more probation and parole searches, home visits, and in-depth investigations of homicides and aggravated assaults. It will also employ street outreach workers and community leaders to defuse gang tensions and retaliatory violence, and gang "call-ins" to offer services and support to draw gang members away from crime and violence while at the same time putting them on notice that their actions are being watched.

In addition to the law enforcement efforts, Menlo Park will hold a community meeting on gang prevention measures Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Belle Haven Community School, 415 Ivy Drive, in Menlo Park.

Violett said the concerted actions are meant to "send a clear message that we're working together to stem the violence and to tell those participating in the violence that it must stop."